We live in paradise. We all know that, on some level, but there's nothing like running around Ventura County (and its fringes) with out-of-state visitors to put things in perspective.
When my Wisconsin in-laws rolled into Los Angeles via Amtrak a couple of months ago, their train was four hours late. Add that to the entire day of sightseeing they lost when the Grand Canyon portion of their trip ran eight hours behind schedule, and the haunted look on their faces was to be expected. Luckily, we already had the perfect antidote: We would take them for an on-the-way-home lunch at Moonshadows (20356 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, 310-456-3010).
For years, all I knew about this place was that the late, Oscar-winning producer Julia Phillips ("Taxi Driver," "The Sting" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind") liked to broker deals there over lines of cocaine, as she lovingly detailed in her 1991 memoir "You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again." Then, on the way to the airport for our Hawaiian honeymoon, my husband and I decided to stop in for a leisurely weekday lunch. We discovered that nearly every table in the place has an ocean view, thanks to the fact that the building is cantilevered over a sliver of beach.
These days, I don't care that the paparazzi sometimes catch Britney Spears exiting the restaurant, or that its bar, the Blue Lounge, was the last place Mel Gibson was seen before his infamous rant: Moonshadows is where we take visitors in need of a quick dose of coastal charm before the jet lag sets in. Sure, I could tell by the way the table went silent after the menus arrived that my Midwestern in-laws suffered sticker shock over the $15.50 Kobe beef burger with taro root chips. But then a flock of pelicans glided by like a corps of ballerinas, followed by a school of playful dolphins. Welcome to California.
When you need to both feed and entertain visiting friends and family, it helps to have a list of local-flavor places like Moonshadows up your sleeve. Thanks to their cheerful curiosity, the in-laws helped make several additions to our existing panel of possibilities (read on for details, or visit http://www.Studio805.tv and click on "entertainment" for an online report with photos). But if you have a similar list or discover something new and noteworthy during the long, post-Fourth-of-July holiday weekend, don't hesitate to share: Send a note that includes the who, what, when and where info to the e-mail address at the end of this column.
After polishing off our burgers, steak sandwich with kimchee and Bartlett pear salad at Moonshadows, we headed for Ojai and checked into the same hotel where the in-laws were staying, the better to act as guides to the local scenery — some of which showed up at meal time.
At Bodee's (3304 Maricopa Highway, 646-5300), we sat next to a waterfall, nibbling on barbecue duck confit quesadilla with mango salsa and guacamole while sipping the house version of the Lemon Drop, a martini made with juice squeezed from lemons grown on the adjacent Bodee Ranch. As dinner progressed, we saw chef Chris Watson drive a golf cart through the ranch gates, on a reconnaissance mission, perhaps, for more avocados and citrus.
Dinner at The Garden Terrace (1002 E. Ojai Ave., 640-2889) also started with a variation on the martini: Ojai Orange Drops made with Absolut Mandrin, triple sec and Ojai orange juice. After a meal that included an order of California quail, we nearly lost my mother-in-law for good among the cookbooks, ceramics and animal-print pj's in the restaurant's stuffed-to-the rafters gift shop.
We spent one afternoon driving out to Lake Casitas Recreation Area for lunch at Marina Café (tell them that's where you're headed when you get to the gate, and they'll wave you in without paying the day-use fee). Perched on the shore of the titular lake, the newly remodeled cafe (649-2514) serves breakfast and lunch on an outdoor patio and in a modest dining room decorated with taxidermic fish. The menu is equally modest but tasty: We made short work of our cheeseburgers, fries, chili relleno platter and ice cream bars, the latter pulled from a serve-yourself freezer.
We spent another afternoon visiting the orchards and facilities of Ojai Olive Oil, a trip that included a brief but beautiful drive through citrus and avocado groves and through at least one dry creek bed. There, co-owner Ron Asquith gave us a tour of the trees, some of which were planted in the 1880s, and of the equipment that is used each fall to harvest and press the olives for oil. We sampled the wares in the on-site tasting room before snapping up several bottles of olive oil, some of it infused with rosemary or Satsuma mandarins. (Ojai Olive Oil tours are available most Saturdays and by appointment. Call 646-5964.) Another producer of local olive oil, Regalo, also has begun offering tours by appointment; call 815-5761.)
Before we knew it, the in-laws were due back in Los Angeles to catch the train home. There was time for one last meal, amid the market stalls and strolling mariachis of Olvera Street. We ducked into La Golondrina Café (213-628-4349) for an early lunch. My father-in-law, a staunch meat-and-potatoes kind of guy, looked at the menu of mole poblano and green chili pork stew with cactus and instead ordered a burger. "Your first Mexican hamburger?" the waitress asked with a wry smile.
We saw them off in the Art Deco grandeur that is Union Station, several hours before their train was scheduled to depart. (The FIL does not like to be tardy.) But by the time they rolled into their home state, the train was late again, by more than eight hours. A full refund helped take away some of the sting, they told us. I would have made Amtrak throw in a bag of Wisconsin cheese curds, for good measure.
WINE TIME: The wine-tasting group WINO (Wine Investigation for Novices and Oenophiles) will mark its 32nd anniversary with a winemaker dinner at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at Residence Inn by Marriott at River Ridge in Oxnard. The featured winery will be Seghesio Family Vineyards of Healdsburg, which WINO members visited during a trip to Sonoma County. (Peter and Cathy Seghesio returned the favor when they attended the group's 25th anniversary.) Prepared by executive chef Jorge Espinosa, the dinner this year will include a 2006 arneis paired with appetizers; a 2005 Home Ranch zinfandel with duck breast and cherry-apricot sauce and, for dessert, a 2005 Cortina zinfandel served with triple-chocolate cheesecake and fresh raspberry coulis. For information about reservations ($69, or $65 for members) and upcoming WINO dinners (Eberle Winery on Aug. 5, Chalone Vineyard on Sept. 9), call 484-4196.
IN REVIEW: For restaurant critic Rita Moran's thoughts on the sunset-dinner offerings at the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum in Simi Valley, see Time Out in Thursday's Star.
Source : http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2007/jul/03/table-with-ocean-view-can-soothe-the-weary/
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